Who's Better?
by KawaiiNekoNami
Summary: Slight-AU. When Doflamingo bring little Law to pay a visit to Mihawk and little Zoro, whatever could have goes wrong? "Even if he is the strongest swordsman, I don't think he is the 'strongest man'." –Law. "Having a huge bounty and being the captain of an infamous pirate crew doesn't mean anything!"–Zoro [Family-fluff ]


**Who's Better?**

A **One Piece** Fan-Fiction

By **KawaiiNekoNami**

…

* * *

"Hello, Mihawk."

The master swordsman slowly looked up from the folded newspaper in his hands when he heard a familiar playful voice called his name.

Sharp golden hawk-alike eyes clashed with the other's reddish purple shaded lenses dangerously once Mihawk realized who is the tall man that had barge into his mansion.

"Donquixote Doflamingo." The master swordsman greeted in a not so polite tone as he grabbed the hilt of his sword that lay beside him, warning nonverbally that if the fellow Warlord had any harmful intentions, he was not going to go easy with him. "What brings you here?"

"Just here to pay you a visit." Doflamingo gave his trademark grin as he said while Mihawk eyed him in suspicious.

"For what? You obviously didn't just want to pay me a visit. That's not like you, Doflamingo."

The blond man chuckled before he glanced down at his leg, where a small boy stood behind him, trying to hide himself from Mihawk's sight. The master swordsman immediately took notice of the small figure who wore a northern-style fur hat.

"Is that the child you had adopted as said by the rumors, Doflamingo?" Mihawk asked, raising his brow in question before he loosened his grip on his sword (just a bit) in worries that he might had scared the innocent child.

"Fufufu~ I never knew he could be a hot topic of the world." Doflamingo gave out a snicker before he turned his attention fully towards the child who was still hiding behind him. "Well, have you forgotten what Vergo had taught you about manners?"

The boy flinched when the name of the man he despised a lot was being mentioned. He started to hesitate for a second on what he should do before he decided to step out from Doflamingo's oversized coat and reveal himself to the swordsman.

"… The name is Trafalgar Law." The child introduced himself, not a hint of emotion could be heard in his shallow tone.

Mihawk's sharp eyes started to examine the boy in front of him from head to toe. And to his mild surprise, hints of swollen bruises could be seen on the rather thin layered white lab coat Law was wearing.

The master swordsman immediately turned his attention towards Doflamingo who was standing behind Law and he shot a heated glare to the younger Warlord.

He knew it.

Mihawk just knew that no children would remain innocent and safe if their caretaker is a psychopath like Doflamingo. The poor boy who goes with the name Trafalgar Law standing in front of him is the best example.

"Did you beat him?" Mihawk asked. His tone is dangerously low.

"No." Doflamingo denied with a sigh, wondering why each and every person he came to meet with would ask him the same question. "I left him with my first mate most of the time. Vergo is strict and has no experiences in taking care of children. Besides, he also has a short temper. So it's only obvious that his punishments to Law would be harsher than others."

While listening to Doflamingo's rants of pushing all the faults to Vergo, Mihawk was starting to wonder how many loving and devoted mothers out there would probably want to strangle both the captain of Donquixote pirate crew and his first mate for abusing a child.

"… Where is my friend?"

The master swordsman was torn from his thought when Law suddenly tugged his pants and asked, obviously directed to him.

"What friend?" Mihawk raised one of his brows in question before he asked back.

"Doffy said that I would get a new friend if I came here with him." The boy said before he turned his head back and forth, in search for his new 'friend'.

Meanwhile, Mihawk was sending a glare towards Doflamingo. A glare that was questioning about what the sadistic blond is planning.

Doflamingo raised both his hands to prove that he had no other plans aside from his goal of getting Law a friend. "I swear. I've no intentions of harming your baby boy, Hawky."

After all, it would not be a nice choice to anger the world greatest swordsman when he only decided to pay a relaxing visit to the fellow Warlord.

"Is that so?" Mihawk asked as he doesn't really trust Doflamingo's words. However, seeing how exciting Law is to meet his new 'friend', the swordsman decided to give in for once. "I would need to warn you first then. Roronoa _**would not**_ be the most polite friend you are going to have." He said before he started to look around the living room, searching for the said boy.

The master swordsman immediately raised one of his brows when he couldn't find his son who will usually sleep at the corner of the room or beside his chair.

"Fufufu~ my dear friend, don't tell me you have just lost sight of your son." Doflamingo said mockingly with a wide grin presented on his face.

"I did not." Mihawk replied emotionlessly as he stood up from his comfortable seat and looked around his surrounding, trying to find a mop of uncommon green hair. When he failed to find the missing green haired boy, Mihawk simply plopped back on his seat with his eyes closed before he called out in a strict tone.

"Roronoa, I've no time for hide and seek. If you don't come out in this instant, I'm going to allow Perona to make you into her personal dressing doll."

"NO!" a voice suddenly cried out as a small figure made his way out from the ancient desk nearby.

The figure was a boy, looking slightly younger than Law. He has short bright green hair, a pair of steel greyish eyes and a tight frown was presented his child alike face. In his arms is a wooden sword that he held against his chest.

"Old man! Did you forget the troubles you had gotten me into when Perona lost her stupid bear?! Because you were being such a stingy man who refused to get her a new bear doll back then, she came up with the plan of kidnapping me and forcing me into one of her idiotic costumes!" The boy exclaimed as he pointed an accusing finger at Mihawk.

"What is so bad about being the substitute of your sister's bear doll?" The swordsman asked back calmly as he grabbed his folded newspaper beside him and started to read again.

"The costume is stupid and it also itches!"

"Then you better don't let her heard it. She will probably drag you to her room and forced you to try on her other costumes next time." Mihawk warned before he noticed Law was staring at him and Zoro at the corner of his eyes. "Roronoa, introduce yourself to our guests."

The young boy turned around and eyed Law and Doflamingo suspiciously before he introduces himself in an unpleasant tone. "My name is Dracule Zoro Roronoa." Then, he jabbed his thumb towards Mihawk who was sitting comfortably behind him. "And I'm going to defeat that old man behind me sooner or later and take his title as the greatest swordsman in the world."

Doflamingo stifled a light laugh at Zoro's rather blunt statement before he bent down to the boy's height level. "Fufufu, is that so? Does that mean that Hawkie is really strong?" He questioned as he playfully ran his fingers through Zoro's short spiky green hair.

"Of course!" Zoro exclaimed proudly before he slapped Doflamingo's large hand away from his hair. "He is definitely the strongest man ever! Or else he won't have been the one who is holding the title as the greatest swordsman in the world right now!"

"… That's… not true." A voice mumbled. Zoro turned around and frowned as he glared at Law who stared back at him bravely.

"Even if he is the strongest swordsman, I don't think he is the 'strongest man'." Law said. His voice is soft, but it still showed firmness and determination. "On the other hand, Doffy is the captain of the infamous pirate crew; Donquixote. And he has a bounty of 340,000,000. Doffy is definitely stronger than your 'old man'."

"Having a huge bounty and being the captain of an infamous pirate crew doesn't mean anything. My old man has the abilities to slice and destroy the entire fleets of ships and giant icebergs. He could also deflect the course of bullets with only a slight touch!" Zoro retorted furiously as he stretched his arms out widely to illustrate his point.

The two children started to glare harshly at each other. As Mihawk was deciding whether he should or not interrupting the seemly harmless childish argument (with Doflamingo who was watching in interest without a care), the swordsman's sharp eyes notice Zoro's hand was already fidgeting the hilt of his wooden sword and Law was also clenching his fists tightly.

The notice immediately made Mihawk decided to butt in before a fight between the two boys began.

"That's enough, Roronoa." The aristocratic warlord called out strictly as he grasped Zoro's shoulder from behind, making the child immediately turned around and gave a frown at him.

"Old man?"

"Look." Mihawk said calmly as he knelt down in front of Zoro. "It is fine if Law doesn't think the same as you."

"It… is…?" Huge greyish hues blinked.

"It is." Mihawk insisted as he firmly nodded. "It doesn't matter if Law thinks that Doflamingo is stronger than me, as that's what he believes in." the master swordsman gave a gentle ruffle on the boy's unique colored hair. It had been a habit the Warlord had gained since the fateful day he picked baby Zoro back home.

When Mihawk took a glance at his fellow Shichibukai, he was surprised to see Doflamingo was already kneeling in front of Law and was actually giving a proper talk to the kid.

"Do you know what matter to me the most?" the former world noble questioned and Law shook his head, giving a 'no'.

"It's that you think I'm the greatest man ever." Doflamingo said with a light-hearted chuckle before he gave a soft pat on Law's hat. "That's all matter to me. It's okay if Marimo-chan over there doesn't agree with you."

The boy shifted in his place as he gripped on his hat firmly, giving a soft nod at the tall man. Deep inside, Law was feeling happy. It was always a rarity to have Doflamingo around with him, as the blonde man always left him behind with the abusive Vergo.

"Now… don't you think you owe someone an apology, Law?"

Both of the boys gave a glance at each other before they looked away in silence. It stayed like that quite a time as neither of the children is willing to speak and apologize first. Mihawk gave out a sigh before he nudged Zoro, which resulted nothing more than just a grunt of disapprove from the green haired boy.

'… _What a stubborn brat.'_ The Warlord thought before he decided to slap some senses into his obstinate boy's brain by hitting him at the back of his head with his rolled up newspaper. Zoro winced at the hard whack and sent Mihawk a threatening glare.

'_Fine. You owe me one, old man.'_ Was what the glare replied before Zoro turned around to face Law.

"I'm sorry." Zoro murmured under his breath in an almost inaudible tone as he stared firmly at the red carpeted floor.

Law looked at him in surprise and suddenly, he felt Doflamingo nudged him from behind, signaling him to apologize as well. The boy turned his head to aside in embarrassment before he slowly murmured out his apology.

"I'm sorry too…"

"Fufufu, that's my good boy, Law." Doflamingo said with his trademark grin plastered on his face before he pushed Law forward not too softly.

"Now… hug it out."

Immediately, Law spun around and looked up at Doflamingo with wide greyish eyes in shock.

"You heard me, Law. I said; hug it out." The blonde man ordered playfully, a glint of evilness could be seen in his eyes under the reddish purple lenses. "Of course, you have the right to disobey my order. But you know, that means you are not going to have anything but bread as you meals for the next three months."

Law swallowed hard in horror before he slowly turned back to look at Zoro. With great reluctance, he made his way towards the younger boy and wrapped his arms around him to show his (forced) deepest apology.

In a quick minute, Law broke apart and ran back to Doflamingo with a flushed red face and hid himself in the man's large feathery coat.

As Mihawk watched the fellow warlord started to laugh like the psycho he is while teasing the tomato red faced Law, he placed his hand on top of Zoro's head, startling the boy.

"You know, I felt really proud when you kept insisting that I'm the strongest man ever."

"You are, old man." Zoro replied with a soft huff as he crossed his arms over his chest, not noticing the small smile grazing over Mihawk's feature.

* * *

**Omake: ****The Awaiting Future**

* * *

"Old man?"

Mihawk's deep slumber was broken by a familiar soft voice. The man sat up while his sharp golden eyes were trying to adjust in the darkness as fast as possible. Once his vision is clear, Mihawk was surprised to find Zoro beside his bed, staring at him with wide questioning eyes.

"What is it, Roronoa?" The swordsman asked. His voice was low with sleepiness.

"Why are you in my room?" Zoro questioned.

Mihawk let out an exhausted sigh. "Roronoa, you're lost again."

He honestly couldn't understand how the boy could get lost so easily.

Zoro blinked as he glanced around the room to completely take in his surrounding, before turning back to look at the master swordsman with a red blushing face.

"S-Sorry. I thought it's my room." He mumbled in embarrassment and began to leave, turning on his heel and taking a quick step, only to be stopped by a sudden strict command.

"Stop right there." Mihawk called out. His deep, stern voice made Zoro nearly tripped as he stopped on his track. He slowly turned around and watched in surprise as Mihawk shifted on his king-sized bed to clear up a space.

"Come here." The master swordsman ordered as he patted the empty spot beside him. Zoro looked at him in shock, before a deep shade of red formed on his cheeks.

"I-It's okay. I will go back to my own room and sleep-"

"Stop being a stubborn brat. You know you will get lost again if you step out of this room. Just come here. This is the fastest and easiest solution." Mihawk interrupted Zoro's stuttering strictly before he patted the empty space beside him again. "We used to sleep together when you're younger. There is nothing embarrassing."

After a few seconds of silence, Zoro gave a nod before he clumsily climbed up onto the overly huge bed. Mihawk watched as the boy lingered over him before he lay down comfortably. "… Thanks, old man." Zoro mumbled before he let out a soft yawn.

"I have always adores you, old man." Zoro murmured sleepily as he shifted himself on the bed. "You know…?" His eyelids were already closing and he was trying really hard to stay consciousness. "I will always… think you are the strongest man in the world."

Mihawk let a small smile to form on the thin line of his lips from the heartwarming words. He laid quietly on his side, listening to Zoro's steady breath and soft snores to make sure that the boy was already fast asleep.

"… I know, Roronoa." The master swordsman said, enjoying the quiet moment of staring at his adoptive son's sleepy face. "And I believe… someday you will beat me and become the best swordsman. I hope I will be well prepared for the fateful day."

Zoro suddenly stirred in his sleep, turning his head to rest his cheek at the other side of the pillow. The Warlord raised his hand and gently placed it on the boy's head, running his fingers through Zoro's hair and he watched as every strands of the short green hair fell back to their unkempt place.

He could feel the child's heartbeat against his own, and it relaxed him. His mind was already fully exhausted from those silly worries he held for the obvious future awaiting him.

There is no use worrying over what he knew would happen. He was the one who had decided to bring the lost child back when he found him in a near frozen dead state at a winter island he stopped by. And he had no regret on adopting him, as both Perona and him had brought countless of happiness to his life.

Though, maybe he shouldn't have promised to train Zoro.

_'No more silly worries.'_ Mihawk warned himself as him mind slowly drifted into a deep slumber.

He shouldn't be thinking too much. He should appreciate the precious days of having his children around with him before they leave him someday. All he needed right now is a dreamless sleep while feeling his son's heartbeats against his own.

…

"… Doffy…?"

The blond man blinked as he glanced down to look at the sleepy child who was holding a fistful of his feathery coat.

"What is it, Law?" Doflamingo questioned as he used his free hand to ruffle the boy's fur hat. Law nuzzled his cheek against the Doflamingo's broad chest as he kept his vision on the scenery of the starry sky above him.

"You're the best." Law's eyelids were already starting to close slowly as he mumbled sleepily. "Even if the others may not agree with me, but…" the kid could feel sleepiness overcame him as he settled his head on the pirate's soft feather coat. "Doffy will always be the best in my heart."

The warlord blinked once, mystified by the words he had just heard although he knew he shouldn't have felt so surprised. All along, he knew Law had always shown to have a deep adoration for him since he was the one who had adopted him when he loses his parents.

However, all of sudden Doflamingo just felt like he was lost in his own mind before he quickly pulled himself back to reality and gave out his trademark Cheshire cat smile at Law who was already fast asleep.

"… Is that so…?" the former world noble asked softly to no one in particular as he finally made it back to his ship with Law still sleeping in his right arm. He immediately brought the kid back to his room. Hopefully Law would recognize his own room and let go his feather coat so the warlord won't have to borrow his coat to him.

After all, Doflamingo is not a man who will enjoy sharing his precious coat with anyone.

He set the sleeping child on the bed after taking off his boots. And much to the man's relief, Law's tight grip around his coat immediately loosened once the boy recognized his own bedroom in his half-asleep state.

He took the spotty fur hat away and placed it on the nightstand beside the single size bed. Afterwards, Doflamingo immediately ran his hand through Law's spiky black hair as if hushing the kid back to sleep.

Feeling comfortable and safe, Law let himself to fall back to asleep immediately.

'_Finally.'_ Doflamingo give out a sigh of exhaustion as he rubbed his stiff neck. However, when he managed to catch a glimpse of the kid's sleeping face, he couldn't help but imagine about the obvious future that is awaiting him.

Very soon, Law would grow up and realize that reality is cruel and unforgiving. The wonderful days of having the kid around him are precious, but nothing would stay the same way forever.

And he can't hide the truth from Law his whole life either.

One day, Law will find out that the 'Doffy' he used to look up to is the man who had killed a precious person of his. The boy will detest him and soon, the pair of greyish eyes that used to look at him with so much love and adoration will be replaced with bitter disappointment and rage.

He knew what kind of future was awaiting him for the crime he had marked his name on, but he did not want to give a care about it.

At least not right now.

Not when Law is still viewing him as the man he adores and loves.

* * *

**The End.**

* * *

**New Ending Note (25/11/2013): **

Sorry about my lack of author note yesterday. *nervous laugh* I finished this story by 3.30 am this morning, and I'm totally in a half-asleep state already. So my mind couldn't function properly and all I want back then is: "Publish and go to bed" OvO" So yeah, ahahahaha…. Sorry. If you have any questions, maybe it's already being explained down here. If not, you can ask me.

_ … "I left him with my first mate most of the time. Vergo is strict and has no experiences in taking care of children. Besides, he also has a short temper. So it's only obvious that his punishments to Law would be harsher than others." …_

Okay. Personally I don't think Doflamingo could take care of little Law well by himself. He seemed like the one who will throw a kid he picked to his trust-worthy first mate. And according to the One Piece wiki, Vergo had injured Law severely during the past.

_… "Roronoa, I've no time for hide and seek. If you don't come out in this instant, I'm going to allow Perona to make you into her personal dressing doll." …_

Well, I just think that the family wouldn't be perfect without Perona. :) The idea of Perona making Zoro into her dressing doll is based on my own experience of forcing my guy cousin (who is same age with me) into a pink frilly dress that was too much for my liking (… it itches.) and putting plastic jewelries on him with my other girl cousins. Such a heartwarming memory, mwahahaha. ;) Oh, and it's also inspired from the anime scene in where Perona dressed Zoro as Kumashi.

_… He was the one who had decided to bring the lost child back when he found him in a near frozen dead state at a winter island he stopped by. …_

All the One Piece fans out there know Zoro have a very bad sense of direction. ^_^" *sweatdrop* Besides, we don't know much about Zoro's past aside than he appeared at Koshiro's dojo one day. But I surely will hate myself (for making him getting lost from his hometown) one day when we get to know more of his past someday.

_… Though, maybe he shouldn't have promised to train Zoro. …_

Okay. Once again, this is based on the canon anime/manga scene in where Zoro asked Mihawk to train him.

_All along, he knew Law had always shown to have a deep adoration for him since he was the one who had adopted him when he loses his parents._

Again, I know I will hate myself when we learn Law's past. So sorry for killing your parents here, Law. ;v;

_… One day, Law will find out that the 'Doffy' he used to look up to is the man who had killed a precious person of his. …_

Based on the current manga, in where Law had done so much for 'that person' (Who is probably the mystery Kora-san). I just think that maybe 'that person' means a lot for Law, and Doflamingo had killed him.


End file.
